Industry minimum pay rates up for review

THE minimum rates of pay in industries employing up to half a million people look set to be cut after the Government ordered a review of the mechanisms which set the rates.

The Department of Enterprise yesterday announced that it was pressing ahead with a six-week review of Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements, which govern pay and conditions in industries such as retail, hospitality and construction.

The review by Labour Court chairman Kevin Duffy and UCD economics lecturer Frank Walsh should be wrapped up by mid-April.